The Universe Knocks on My Head

Every once in a while the universe will throw books, movies, personal encounters or just random events at you in startling combinations that knock you upside the head. Or at least, it does this with me. As our family makes the re-entry into busy routines and routine worries, I was jolted by quotes from two different books that remind me to focus on the central issue as a mother, wife, sister, friend and daughter. Here are the quotes - I am willing to bet that you can figure out the central issue:

"God reminded me again that day that I have one purpose, in Uganda and in life, and that is to love. I could ask for no greater assignment."
- Katie Davis in Kisses from Katie, p11http://www.amazon.com/Kisses-Katie-Story-Relentless-Redemption/dp/1451612095

"I understood that since the Church is a body composed of different members, the noblest and most important of all the organs would not be wanting. I knew that the Church has a heart, that this heart burns with love, and that it is love alone which gives life to its members. I knew that if this love were extinguished, the Apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, and the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. I understood that love embraces all vocations, that it is all things, and that it reaches out through all the ages, and to the uttermost limits of the earth, because it is eternal.

Then, beside myself with joy, I cried out: "O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my vocation. My vocation is love! Yes, I have found my place in the bosom of the Church and this place, O my God, thou hast thyself given to me: in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be LOVE!. . .  Thus I shall be all things; thus will my dream be realised . . ."
- St. Therese of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul,

See? Two different books, two different authors, same day. Oddly, both books were written by young women in their early 20's, though they are separated by over a century. Both Katie Davis and St. Therese claimed to be small and insignificant, though they have both affected hundreds, if not thousands of people; Katie through her work with children in Uganda, her blog and her book, and St. Therese through her autobiography, Story of a Soul.. Their words came so closely together that it shocked me into thinking again of my purpose and plans, and how I should really lay these down to be open to God's plan for me. In the meantime, you can never go wrong with love.